Till the End of Time
by MangaFreak15
Summary: Even in death, Shindou Hikaru refuses to be forgotten. And Sai.


**I don't know what this is, except that I suddenly felt like writing it. Please excuse it, there is no plot whatsoever. And it's a bit abstract, Hikaru's POV might be a little hard to follow since I don't use his name for the POV. Otherwise, enjoy. And no flames.**

**Btw, this HikaGo fic was just for fun and I wrote it in two hours. Please excuse grammar errors, since I didn't proofread this.**

**Summary: Even in death, Shindou Hikaru refuses to let himself be forgotten. And Sai.**

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><p><strong>Till the End of Time<strong>

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><p>He remembered crossing a road.<p>

Then a flash of glaring lights, a high-pitched screech of tires on asphalt, followed by a mind-numbing explosion of pain - then the darkness.

And now, he was sitting on top of a white ambulance, watching bemusedly as the paramedics looked over the still body sprawled across the pavement. It was scratched up, he noted. Thick, viscous blood pooled around the body, spreading slowly outward in a twisted circle. It was his body, he thought. He recognized the blood-matted black-and-yellow hair.

So he died. What a strange thought.

He floated down to the pavement and glided over to his body. What a mess. He wished he could have died in a more dignified way. Or, better yet, he wished he could have lived. He wanted to play more go. He didn't want to leave like this - leave? Wait, he wasn't leaving. What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be ascending to Heaven, or at least the place where Sai was? Was he stuck?

He stayed nearby until the paramedics pronounced him officially dead, then loaded him into the ambulance. And he watched them leave until the screaming sirens were silenced. He looked down at his translucent hands, and thought to himself, what now?

He wandered around. No one saw him. He began to think of his go-playing friends and fellow pros and his family. How would they take his death? His mother would grieve terribly. He was sorry. He hadn't planned to go that way. Waya would deny it. And then he would steal away from the crowd and weep silent tears. Isumi would not cry, but he was sure the older pro would feel the burning anguish. Ochi would probably be glad, the little bastard. Less competition for him, pah! His friends from the insei days would likely mourn, but they would move on. Akari would cry herself to sleep for sure. And Touya…

Oh, Touya. How would he react? Would he be shouting in denial, like Waya? Would he stare into space with that rigid look of utter shock, as if he had suffered a humiliating defeat? Or would he shed any tears at all for his rival, the person named Shindou Hikaru?

He floated on aimlessly, passing by the familiar shops and streets. His purposeless wandering led him to a familiar place - Touya Kouyo's go salon. Suppressing the smile that sprung to his face, he phased through the door. No one could see him after all, he was a ghost. It wasn't as if he could touch solid objects (except the ground, which immensely puzzled him).

He entered, his pale eyes taking in the familiar surroundings. Ichikawa was standing at the counter, waiting for someone to come in. Kitajima was there as always, playing go with his opponent. There were two old men playing in the corner. And Touya was nowhere to be found. He felt strangely disappointed by the revelation, but turned around to head out of the salon.

The door slid open.

"Ah, Akira-kun," greeted Ichikawa warmly, smiling at the boy.

"Hello, Ichikawa-san," replied Touya, giving his customary shy smile. "I'm going to be in the back again today."

"Are you going to wait for Shindou-kun today?" asked Ichikawa.

"He said he'd be by toda - Shindou?" began Touya, breaking off from his former statement in surprise at seeing the pale figure standing quietly to the side.

He was surprised too, as was Ichikawa. She blinked in confusion. "Akira-kun? Is something wrong?" she queried.

He watched his rival spin back around and mutter a quiet "no, it was nothing." Touya began to make his way to the back of the salon, where he usually sat. He followed, curious about Touya's ability to see him.

Once Touya was satisfied that no one would be able to hear him, his eyes darted over and looked straight at him. Him, Hikaru. It was oddly ineffective - perhaps the acceptance of being a ghost had changed him a little. He floated over to his rival, bursting with explanations but not seeming to know exactly what to say.

"Shindou," began Touya in a low voice, almost to the point of a whisper. "Why are you here? Why do you look like that?"

He smiled faintly. Just like his rival to get straight to the point. There was nothing unnecessary to be said. So he replied.

"I died today."

Touya's face went ashen. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

When he regained it, it appeared he was having trouble speaking. "S-stop joking around, Shindou," Touya murmured, averting his gaze to the blank goban in front of him.

"I'm not joking," he replied softly. He noted the way Touya's hands stiffened as he reached for the goke nearest to him. "You'll see it soon, I think. On the news."

Touya's mouth tightened into a thin line. He said nothing.

He began to draw away, saddened by his rival's obvious and blatant denial of his death. There was nothing he could do about it, nothing he could have done either. He just happened to be crossing the road when a speeding car slammed into him. Ifs and whys and hows did not help now. What happened at that fateful street happened. But if he had not decided to go to Touya Kouyo's go salon today…

No, he shook his head. That would have disappointed Touya.

"Shindou, wait." He paused. A deep breath, and then, "Was it… painful for you?"

He looked at his rival, and told him honestly, "No. I felt it, the pain I mean, but it was only for a second."

Touya seemed relieved. "That's good," he said. "At least you didn't suffer."

He was almost bewildered. "Touya… did you care about me that much?" he asked. This was his rival, after all. Touya did not cry as he expected, but the near-palpable relief that radiated from the young professional had him questioning his and Touya's tentative friendship with each other.

Touya stared at him. "Of course I did," he answered, appearing hurt by the thought that he had not cared about his rival.

"Oh," he breathed. He moved into the empty space across from Touya. "While I'm here, would you like to play a game? I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

"Shall I place the stones for you then?" inquired Touya, although he knew the answer in his head.

"Of course. I'll point to the spaces where I want to go, okay?" he said. Touya nodded.

And they began. It was a beautiful game.

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><p>Despite Touya's existing knowledge of his rival's death, and having the actual ghost accompany him, he was still unprepared for the article splattered across the front of a <em>Go Weekly <em>magazine: **Tragic Death Occurs! Shindou Sho-dan Dies in Traffic Accident!**

He watched as Touya's hands trembled as he fumbled with the magazine, aquamarine eyes scanning rapidly through the article. His rival's expression became pinched. At one point, he almost thought Touya was going to cry (wouldn't that be a sight to see!). But he didn't. Touya took a deep breath, an attempt to calm himself down. Then he re-read the article:

**Tragic Death Occurs! Shindou Sho-dan Dies in Traffic Accident!**

_Yesterday afternoon, a terrible incident occurred that has extinguished the life of a rising young Go prodigy in our world. It is not Touya Akira, fortunately, but it is still extremely tragic. Shindou Hikaru Sho-dan, a well-known professional go player who has been rumored to be the destined rival of Touya Akira, was killed when he was hit by a speeding car while crossing a street. It has been reported that he died almost immediately, though that will be a small consolation to his family and the friends who knew him._

_Shindou Hikaru was a 15-year old go prodigy who rose through the ranks of the insei class in a self-proclaimed chase after the elusive image of Touya Akira. He was easily recognized with his short black hair and blond bangs. In the same year that he joined the insei class, he managed to pass the pro exam with only three losses. After his promotion to a professional player, he had a mysterious string of forfeits lasting from spring to summer. He has not informed anyone of his reason why, and it is likely the reason will never be known. However, he returned to the professional world shortly thereafter and resumed playing. He has participated in title tournaments before, although he did not make it past the preliminaries often. He won the second-board spot in the Japan-Korea-China Hokuto Cup, although Kurata-sensei decided to place him as first-board in Japan's game against Korea. He lost both his games, but his astounding play against the devious Korean prodigy Ko Yong-ha surprised a great number of people watching the event. Numerous confrontations between him and Touya Akira have suggested that the rumored rivalry shared between the two is true. But as of now, with Shindou's death, what will become of young Touya Akira? See pg. 4 for more information._

Touya's eyes left the article to travel over to him, hovering over his shoulder. He appeared to be unperturbed by the fact that he had died at such a young age, before he could rise up and, like him, surpass the Go world.

He watched in amusement as Touya's gaze flickered over to him, adopting a thoughtful, but scrutinizing look. It was as if Touya could peer straight through him.

"You seem rather calm about your death, Shindou," said Touya, apparently perplexed by his lack of reaction.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing I could've done about it," he replied. "Of course I wish I was still alive, but obviously that isn't going to happen anytime soon. I don't think I need to worry. Besides…"

Touya, of course, noticed his trail-off. "Besides what, Shindou?" he pressed.

_Like this, now I know how Sai felt when he was with me, _he thought. As his thoughts ran towards the ghost of his past, he became noticeably gloomier. And Touya caught on to it.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you going to tell me what you were going to say?"

He closed his eyes, searching within his being. _Sai… I think it's time I told him about you. Is that okay? I did tell him 'someday' after all, although it is a lot sooner than I planned…_

He imagined he could hear the echoing whisper in his mind, _Yes, Hikaru. It's alright._

"Touya… do you want to know the truth?" he whispered. The boy looked at him sharply, aquamarine eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I did say I might tell you someday… about everything." Touya's breath hitched at the realization.

"You mean…?"

"Yeah. I think it's time for you to know the truth about me… and Sai," he said. "Will you listen to me?" Touya nodded.

The go prodigy was a quiet, but attentive listener. He poured out his whole story about a ghost he met in his grandfather's shed, which haunted an old goban with blood stains in the corner. The ghost called himself Fujiwara no Sai, and according to him, Sai was the greatest go player to have ever lived. As he swept through the story and its details, Touya became convinced that it was most definitely true. It also made certain events a whole lot clearer - why Shindou, a total beginner to the game, had beaten him during their first meeting in shidou-go. And in the second game, had completely crushed him. And why, in their third game at the go tournament, he had played like a terrible beginner. The NetGo player who went by the name of 'SAI' was literally a ghost seeking to play more go, and he did so through his vessel, Shindou Hikaru.

He finished his story and hovered quietly, waiting for his rival to absorb the information. After personally seeing him as a real ghost, there was no way Touya wouldn't believe Sai was real. There were too many coincidences to be fake. Finally, Touya looked up.

"I believe you," he said. "I'm sure I would be more skeptical of your story if you hadn't appeared before me in that form, Shindou. Ironic, isn't it?"

He smiled. Both were startled when his form started to glow faintly, little bright green dots floating out of him. "Touya," he said, "I think I'm going now. I guess that's why I didn't move on when I died."

"Shindou… I -" Touya attempted to speak, but his words got caught in his throat.

He looked at his stricken rival. "Will you do me one last favor? Would you make a compilation of… all of my kifus, together with Sai's from NetGo? So it can prove that we actually existed?" he asked. The light in front of his eyes seemed to be growing stronger.

Touya swallowed, but his steely gaze told him that he would fulfill his rival's last request, no matter what. He smiled.

"Thanks, Touya. I'll be waiting for you, okay? Just don't come too soon," he teased. The last of the green lights flew up and disappeared into the air. His image faded slowly away, but its last remnants would remain in Touya's mind.

Shindou Hikaru smiled.

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><p><strong>Soooo... how was it? I haven't written anything for a while. Multi-chapter fics just elude me, so I think doing one-shots are good for me.<strong>

**Comments? Criticisms? Hopefully they're not too harsh.**

**~MangaFreak15**


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